The Groove

The greatest dark ambient artists of all time

19 artists ranked by the Groove — music.nw’s own measure of renown. Not an opinion, a fact computed from the record. Why?

No. 1

Nine Inch Nails

United States of America · 1988– · industrial

9.561

Why this number?

The full board

2 Sadistic Divine

Iran · 2015– · post-rock 7.032

Burzum

Norway · 1991– · black metal 5.582

4 Trent Reznor

United States of America · 1965– · dark ambient 3.324

Dead Can Dance

Australia · 1981– · electronic 3.038

Coil

United Kingdom · 1982–2004 · experimental 2.003

7 Lustmord

United Kingdom · 1964– · electronic 1.240

Robert Rich

United States of America · 1963– · dark ambient 1.240

9 Vladimír Hirsch

Czechia · 1954– · dark ambient 1.150

10 Sunn O)))

United States of America · 1998– · drone metal 1.122

11 Negură Bunget

Romania · 1995–2017 · black metal 1.042

12 川井憲次

Japan · 1957– · electronic 0.900

13 The Caretaker

United Kingdom · 1974– · ambient 0.790

Boris

Japan · 1992– · drone 0.772

15 Mick Gordon

Australia · 1985– · industrial metal 0.750

16 Bohren & der Club of Gore

Germany · 1992– · dark jazz 0.500

17 Blanck Mass

United Kingdom · 2010– · electronic 0.389

18 Mortiis

Norway · 1993– · electro 0.327

19 Ethel Cain

United States of America · 1998– · rock 0.200